The Last of Me
by doppelgangerbitches
Summary: Katerina returned to Bulgaria to find her family slaughtered. What she did after that...well, that's up to her.
1. Chapter One

I sat on the floor in the room my parents had last been alive in. I was cradling my mother's head in my lap, tears falling from my eyes. The tears wouldn't stop. This was _my_ fault. If I hadn't been reckless and ended up pregnant, my father never would have sent me away from my home for bringing dishonor to the Petrova family.

I had done a lot of things in the time I had been away from Bulgaria. I'd met people, _good_ honest people; and I had met some of the worst. If I hadn't of done what I did, I never would have met Elijah. And even knowing what he was, what he wanted from me, he _had_ given me the opportunity to run. To save herself.

And now that I was back in Bulgaria, I had to find the man responsible. Aleksandar Sokolov. I had met Aleksandar through family. He was very popular and wealthy. He was pleasant and kind and I had honestly believed his intentions were true. That he would marry me and everything would be okay for my family again. Little did I know, he had wanted just the one thing from me. A thing I had willingly given him. That in turn was the worst decision I'd made.

I stayed in the Petrova house throughout the entire day, waiting for night to fall to begin my search for Aleksandar. I searched the town and surrounding areas until I had heard word of him in a neighboring area.

I entered the room, getting past his guard easily using the trick of compulsion I learned I had. That trick I used on the first couple guards. The guards outside his room, well, I was hungry. I walked into his room in a white dress, pure as my soul had been when I had first met him.

**"Aleksandar,"** I smiled at him, taking a further step into the room.

Aleksandar looked up from his meal, surprised at the voice. He smiled at first, thinking I was another girl eager to give up everything for him. I was pleased to see the horror on his face when he saw the blood dripping from her lips. **"Katerina,"** he whispered, slowly standing. **"What…are you doing here?"**

**"You recognize me. Good,"** I said moving toward him. I slipped the napkin from the table, wiping my lips. **"Did you think you had seen the last of me when my father sent me away?"** I asked, tilting her head to the side. **"Sit."**

Aleksandar sat quickly, no questions asked. "**Thank you for having the good sense to be frightened,"** I smiled. "**You must wonder why I've returned, then?"** He nodded. **"I've come back for you, Aleksandar. You see…none of this would have happened if it hadn't of been for you. You did this to me. To my family. To you."**

Aleksandar blanched. **"To me?"**

**"To you,"** I nodded. **"I was…happy. I had my family. I had my whole life ahead of me. And you…you destroyed it. You ruined me, Aleksandar. And now…it's gone. My family is gone. My life is gone. My **_**future**_** is gone. I had a child taken away from me. **_**Your**_** child. She's gone. Gone forever. And I was sent away. I thought my life to be a good one while I was in England. But the people there…they weren't who I thought they were. And I was deceived. I was lied to. The way you lied to me. And when I tried to leave, to take my life back in my own hands, I came back home to my family, only to find that they had been slaughtered. And the only reason I can think of to keep you alive….is that I can't. You did this, Aleksandar. And you have to pay for what you've done."**

Aleksandar swallowed. His hand twitched for the knife at his side and threw it at me. I caught it in one swift motion and threw it back at him. It lodged between his ribs and he let out a cry of pain. I moved toward him and pushed his chair against the wall. I pulled the knife from him and tossed it across the room. **"You destroyed me, Aleksandar,"** I whispered into his ear as I traced the wound on chest. **And I want the last thing you see to be the person you destroyed."** I said, staring into his eyes as I wrapped her fingers around his heart, and pulling it from his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

I held the heart of the man who had ruined my life and let it fall to the floor. He was dead. Aleksandar was dead. And now? What was there now? I dropped the heart onto the floor and moved so that my back was against the wall closest to the door. Someone was coming in. Who? It couldn't be his guards; for I had compelled them not to come in. I held my breath and flew against the opposite side of the room when she saw the man enter.

"Elijah."

I spoke softly, her eyes wide. Was he here to kill me, like his brother had done to my family? I was looking around the room, praying for a way out, but the door which he'd walked through was the only way.

"Katerina." Elijah's voice was as soft as it had been the day I met him. Kind, full of honor. I stared at him.

"Are you here to kill me?" I asked, finally finding her voice. "Are you here to slaughter me the way you slaughtered my family?"

"Slaughter?" Elijah looked confused. "Your family? Your family is dead?"

I stuck her chin out. "You do not have to lie to me, Elijah. I know what you've done for your brother."

"No," he moved toward me, but froze as I cringed against the wall, his expression changed to one of hurt. "Are you afraid of me?"

I didn't speak, staring at the floor. I stayed as close to the wall as I possibly could. I couldn't run; I knew that. He would find me, and then Niklaus would find me. And then…then I would be dead.

"Niklaus was the one," Elijah said, moving forward again. "I would never do anything to hurt you, Katerina. You must believe me."

I swallowed, moving my eyes up to meet Elijah's. "Believe you? You came after me when I ran, Elijah. I heard the plans. You were going to kill me. Niklaus was going to kill me."

Elijah was in front of me again. "No. I had a spell that was to bring you back to life. I was going to protect you, but you ran. I told you I was to protect you. So why did you run?"

"I was frightened," I whispered. "What would you have done, in my place? Would you have stayed and risked being killed?"

"No," Elijah answered. "I would have trusted you; the way that I thought you trusted me."

"I trusted you to be honest with me."

"I have never lied to you, Katerina," Elijah said. "And I won't. I'll keep you safe from my brother, Katerina." He reached out and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. "I swear it to you. As long as you stay. As long as you don't run."

I smiled at him, nodding. "I'll stay."


	3. Chapter 3

"We need to run."

I woke to Elijah's hushed tone and hurried to move from the bed. I followed him from the cabin we'd found at the northern border of Greece. We had been running for a month now and had never stayed in one place very long. But at least we were together. At least Elijah was protecting me. As they ran from Klaus, Elijah used his resources to find a witch to give me a day ring so we could escape Niklaus during the day as well as the night. The more we ran, the better chance they had at hiding from him.

We escaped to the south of Greece, settling on the island of Crete. Elijah had compelled the people that we had passed that we hadn't been seen. We were ghosts. We didn't exist.

"Katerina."

I turned from the spot on the beach where I sat at the sound of Elijah's voice. I smiled at him, as I often did. He sat next to me and took my hand in his.

"Are you regretful?"

I looked at him, curious. "Regretful?" I repeated.

"Of running with me," he asked me. "I don't want you to be unhappy."

I shook my head. "No, of course not. I'm not unhappy, Elijah. I'm with you. I'm safe and I'm happy. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Elijah smiled and nodded. "As am I."

He looked at me; really looked at me and I felt something inside of me. The same thing I had felt when we had had our first private meetings together.

"Elijah…" Ist arted, but I couldn't get the words out. I looked down at our hands and took a breath. He lifted my chin and I stared into his eyes. "I can't thank you enough for doing this for me. You've chosen me over your brother and that…it means a lot to me."

"_You_ mean a lot to me," Elijah replied.

I smiled and reached up, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him down so that our lips touched. I had done this only once before. With Aleksandar. That was a mistake. This…this would not be. This was Elijah; he was my protector and I could count on him to keep me safe.

The reaction Elijah had when I kissed him was understandable. He pulled away after a moment, but I kept her hands on his collar.

"Katerina," he said simply, brushing my hair behind my ear. I simpered and stood, pulling him with me.

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running into the cottage we'd found. I pulled the straps of my dress, letting the material fall to the floor before moving toward the front door where I was immediately greeted by Elijah, who pushed me against the wall. I pulled at the buttons of his shirt and ran my fingers down his chest while his lips moved along my collarbone. I tugged at the waistband of his pants and let out a soft gasp as he lifted me and moved us to the bed. I giggled as I stared up at him. There was a wide smile on Elijah's face as he leaned down to press his lips against mine once again.

This was who we were. Our relationship from the moment we met was playful, but sincere. We went hand in hand with one another; I knew I couldn't count on anyone else but him. I ran my fingers through his hair and used my feet to push the rest of his clothes from his body. I let out a moan as his hands gripped my hips, holding me in place.

If I had known a term for bliss in my time as a human, this would cancel it out completely. _This _was bliss; heaven. It might not last forever with us like this, but I wouldn't worry about what-ifs or could-be's. Moments like this were meant to enjoy.

**A/N: I didn't know if you guys wanted more detail for the sex, so I didn't. let me know and I'll do it for the next time. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of voices in the distance. I started, forgetting where I was, moving from the bed to the furthest corner of the room. My clothes were on the other side of the room. How was I to run if Niklaus had found her?

"Katerina."

The voice brought her out of my thoughts, and I turned toward the voice, and let out a breath of relief, relaxing against the wall.

"I forgot where I was," I whispered as Elijah walked over to her, pulling me into her arms. "I thought Niklaus had found me."

Elijah held me tight against him, kissing her forehead. "It was just me, my love," he replied. "I apologize. I hadn't considered what you'd think with me gone."

I shook my head. "No, no. You have no reason to apologize. I was being silly," I smiled at him. "I had just been running for so long that I had forgotten what it meant to be safe. I'm safe with you," she said standing on her toes and pressing her lips gently to his.

He kissed me back and pulled away, resting his forehead against mine. "I think we'll be safe for some time. So…why don't we enjoy our time here?" he suggested. "We barely had time to enjoy the scenery on our way down. What do you say we take a look at the island?"

I bit her lower lip as I stared up at him. "That sounds perfect," I smiled.

"Good," Elijah grinned. "I'll wait for you outside."

I smiled to herself as Elijah left. We were safe. And we'd be safe for a while. I was happy he had found me in Bulgaria, found me and wanted to keep me safe. I had believed his loyalty lied with his family. But when it came to love, people didn't always make the smartest decisions. I had learned that the hard way.

I pushed away from the wall and moved toward the room the previous owners' clothes were in. I found a green dress, a similar color to the one she had worn when I and Elijah had spent one of their first days together. I smiled at the memory and found a pair of sandals and went outside to meet Elijah.

Elijah smiled when he saw me , taking my hand and kissing my cheek. "You are beautiful," he whispered in my ear before we started walking.

"Have you been here before?" I asked him. "To this island? Do you have any secret hiding spots as you did in England?"

He shook his head. "A long time, ago," he said. "I think it must have been two or three hundred years ago. It was the three of us. Niklaus, Rebekah and I. We had come from a land across the sea and we spent years exploring the land out here. We separated for a time and I came down to these islands," Elijah said. "The cottage was mine. I built it. Over the years, I had families stay there to keep it standing, stocked and furnished."

I looked at him. "You're saying that cottage has been here for over almost four hundred years?"

"That's what I'm saying," Elijah smiled at me.

"That's amazing," I said. "I don't know if I could build something so beautiful."

"You can," he said. "And we will. Together."


	5. Chapter 5

We walked for a while, almost getting to the entire length of the island. Being what we were, we didn't exactly get tired. We talked about how he spent his years prior to meeting me. He had seen so much in his years. He had experience so much, but he wanted to do it all again. This time with someone who mattered to him.

I hadn't had someone who meant anything to me. Not the way that Elijah mattered to me. The way we were together, I wasn't sure it was real most times. I had fallen for Elijah a long time ago; probably when we first had met. There had been something about him that just felt right. We connected even under the difficult circumstances. I had been scouted for his brother. And for Elijah's, he held honor high above everything else.

What he had done for me, running away from his family; hiding away in the furthest corners of the world, I don't know how I can ever repay him. I would be forever in his debt. I owed him my life.

Hand in hand, we walked. We talked; and we enjoyed the sunshine. We found a small body of water that was clear and the brightest blue I had ever seen. I enjoyed the water; not having seen much of it in Bulgaria. When I traveled to England, I stayed on the deck for the most part, just looking out at the endless sea. It gave me hope; hope that there was something more for me than the life that had been ripped from me because of an error I had made.

I ran down to the beach and lifted my feet up to take my sandals off before running down to the water and giggling as the water ran across my feet. I turned back to look at Elijah and was surprised to see the look he was giving him. He looked amused at my expression.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head at me. "You find joy in everything."

I tilted my head to the side and bit my lower lip. "If I didn't, what would be the point?" I said. "Come in here with me."

Elijah smiled at me and nodded before doing away with his shoes and rolling his pants up before joining me. He picked me up and I let out a giggle as he carried me deeper into the water. He dropped me into the water and I came back up, pushing my hair out of my life.

"I can't believe you just did that," I said before jumping on him and falling back into the water with him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I looked up at him before kissing him.

"I love you," he whispered to me, caressing my cheek.

I rubbed against his hand and smiled at him. We had only spent this month together and it was…I knew it was true. "I love you."


End file.
